2. The Hall of Medicine and Dentistry will depict the history of these two sciences with exhibits of the equipment used through the centuries. In the medical field, early trephining and other surgical instruments will be displayed along with a diorama of an 1805 surgical operation performed by Dr. Philip Syng Physick in the amphitheater of the Pennsylvania Hospital. Diagnostic instruments such as stethoscopes, endoscopes, speculums, and blood-pressure measuring devices will be exhibited with a series of microscopes illustrating the development of these instruments. Exhibits of original galvanometers and other apparatus will trace the development of cardiography. The early use of anesthesia will be shown by apparatus of William Morton and Crawford W. Long, American pioneers in this field. The development of the devices of modern medicine and surgery will be shown by exhibits of the iron lung and x-ray tubes, including a tube used by W. K. Roentgen. Medicine chests and surgical kits of different periods will graphically summarize the state of medical science in the period each represents.
Exhibits on the development of dentistry and dental surgery will display examples of tooth-filling and extracting tools, drilling apparatus from the early hand and foot engines to the first ultrasonic cutting instrument (1954), and the original contra-angle, hydraulic and air-turbine handpiece model[20] which revolutionized the field of instrumentation for dental surgery (with speeds of 200,000 to 400,000 rpm). This hydraulic turbine of Dr. Robert J. Nelson and associates of the National Bureau of Standards set the design pattern for the remarkable and successful high-speed, air-turbine handpiece developed by Paul H. Tanner and Oscar P. Nagel of the U.S. Naval Dental School in 1956. Also underway is the reconstruction of the offices of famous dentists such as G. V. Black and the father of American orthodontia, Edward H. Angle, using their original equipment and instruments. In addition, an exhibit is planned to include x-ray tubes and the electric dental engine, the first to be operated in a human mouth by the pioneer dentist on dental skiagraphy, Charles E. Kells (1856-1928).[21]
Figure 23.—Exhibit on nursing bottles and measures to promote child health to counteract the once-common diseases of childhood. This display was completed in 1962. (Smithsonian photo 49345-G.)
3. The Hall of Pharmaceutical History will feature exhibits on the reconstruction of two pharmacy shops: an 18th-century apothecary shop, originally from Germany, with a very elegant collection of drug jars, decorated medicinal bottles, balances, mortars and pestles, and other tools and documents pertaining to the apothecary art, and a late 19th-century American drugstore with shelves filled with patent medicines and drug containers of various sizes and shapes. The window will also feature symbols of pharmacy and beautiful show globes. Displays will show the development of antibiotics and the early tools used in the manufacture of the so-called “miracle drugs,” including a mold from Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of penicillin. In addition, a platform will be reconstructed to display a variety of pharmaceutical apparatus used in the preparation and manufacture of drugs, such as tablet and capsule machines and drug mills and percolators. Recently, with the assistance of Professor Glenn Sonnedecker, the Division acquired a fine collection of pharmaceutical equipment and devices from the School of Pharmacy of the University of Wisconsin.
Figure 24.—The origins of drugs from the three natural kingdoms, drug synthesis, and the increase in the manufacture of vitamins. This display was completed in 1962 and is now on display at the Museum of History and Technology. (Smithsonian photo P6316.)
Since the Division houses the largest collection of materia medica in the country, a representative cross section of crude drugs will be displayed in alphabetical order as well as a display illustrating the role of cinchona and antimalarial drugs in the fight against disease. An exhibit will portray the “origin of drugs” from the three natural kingdoms, animal, vegetable, and mineral, together with synthetic drugs including the manufacture of vitamins.
Plans are being made for an elaborate exhibit of weights and balances used in many countries throughout the centuries, their impact on accuracy of dosage and weighing of drugs, and their use in the apothecary art.
The Division will also display pictorial and printed materials, as well as artifacts from all periods and all countries. These collections are intended to help in presenting a more complete picture of the story of the medical sciences for educational purposes and research, and to increase man’s knowledge in fighting disease and promoting health.